МАГИЧЕСКОЕ ОРУЖИЕ ГЕРОЕВ ЭПОСА «НАРТЫ»

The article examines the archaic cult of the god of iron and the patron saint of metal Tlepsh, the emergence of metallurgy, the creation of the first weapons and armor made of metal, which are reflected in the Adyghe heroic epic Narts. The relevance of the article is due to the fact that the heroic epic Narts is almost not considered in the scientific literature as a source of information for the study of objects and tools, the creation of the first weapon, the addition of a complex of weapons and armor of horsemen. The purpose of the study is to compare the weapons of the heroes of the Nart epic, endowed with magical properties, having certain qualitative characteristics, technological features of manufacture, with the materials of archaeological sites of the Northwestern Caucasus. To achieve these goals, a comparative historical research method was used to determine the features of the origin and composition of various types of offensive and defensive weapons, reflecting the stages of development of blacksmithing and weapons production in a historical context. The transformation of the Chthonic «fire» god into the patron saint of iron and blacksmithing of the nart Tlepsha translates in the legends of the Nart epic the historical and economic prerequisites for the origin of metalworking in the Early Iron Age, the creation of the first tools and weapons of the sleds, which became models for creating the best defensive and offensive weapons in Eurasia. The archaeological sites of the Northwestern Caucasus confirm the continuous development of metallurgy and metalworking since ancient times and the creation of highly artistic bronze, gold, and silver products. The initiated research on this topic has a long–term perspective and requires continued work on the study of the original texts of the Adyghe heroic epic «Narts» for comparison with archaeological artifacts found in the Northwestern Caucasus.